


Alternatives to Violence

by excogitation



Category: HEARTBEAT (RPG)
Genre: Christmas Hijinks, F/F, Fluff, Rivalry, and im so sorry about the gnomes it just happened. it really did, someone please save this girl she flirts in ALL the wrong ways, teeeeeeensy bit of angst in the bonus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-26 23:31:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17151110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/excogitation/pseuds/excogitation
Summary: After the whole “spending two hundred years in the Den Castle dungeon” period of Nyx’s life, living in Harbei should be a breath of fresh air. There are no Siren guards more than happy to bully her (– or rather, the only Siren she needs to worry about is separated by a large span of forest and otherwise occupied by married life), and no seemingly-eternal solitude broken by the occasional mournful spirit. Not being reminded by your past regrets also helps. A lot.None of her 200+ years of experience prepared Nyx for having to live with Io, though.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> To pestemon, for the HB discord Secret Santa!! ♡ I'm so happy the event was successful... I hope you like it heehee.
> 
> and to anyone reading it now: i hope this proves to be entertaining! thank u for giving my fic a chance... getting those rare heartbeat bites

After the whole “spending two hundred years in the Den Castle dungeon” period of Nyx’s life, living in Harbei should be a breath of fresh air. There are no Siren guards more than happy to bully her (– or rather, the only Siren she needs to worry about is separated by a large span of forest and otherwise occupied by married life), and no seemingly-eternal solitude broken by the occasional mournful spirit. Not being reminded by your past regrets also helps. A lot.

None of her 200+ years of experience prepared Nyx for having to live with Io, though.

No wait, scratch that. So maybe she did have an idea of the living hell it would be to deal with Io’s hyperactiveness constantly, but her dumbass self still accepted Beck’s well-meaning offer in the face of constant complaints about Klein. (Of all the things Nyx missed while in prison, living and cleaning up after Klein was not among them.)

But right, back to the present. And Io trying to shove Nyx out of the doorway, oblivious to the other’s disapproval and shouting about a fight for the nth time.

“Just…. get…. out…. the damn house!” Io pants with obvious exhaustion in her voice. It’s been five minutes and neither Nyx nor Io seem to be giving up– though in Nyx’s case, it’s more of a desperate attempt to stay alive. “How the heck are you not budging! You gainin pounds or somethin’, huh, Reaper?”

Nyx let out a grimace. “Io, l-listen. We fought y-yesterday why d-don’t we-”

“No!” Io interrupted, letting out a pout. She took a quick moment to think of her next response, in which Nyx was gladly able to get a stronger foothold in the doorway. “I... we need a better fight!” Desperate and in the heat of the moment, Io moved to summon her sword for the spar.

Now, Nyx has been in enough spars to know that once Io drew her sword, she was already dead. So in a feat of extreme fitness, and to an extent extreme impulse, Nyx moves to perform a suplex Eve would’ve been envious of– that was, at least until Io breaks the hold and successfully pushes Nyx out of the door. Not even the snow blanketing the entranceway was able to cushion her descent: Nyx hit the ground hard and unmerciful. 

“F-fuck- “AND THATS HOW YOU DO IT!” Io gloats, giving a wide grin as she moved forward to plant her hands firmly on her hips in a power pose above Nyx.

A voice rang above, “Io? What are you doing outside..?”

Before Io could react, Beck’s head popped out of the window, high above on the second floor. It only took her a few seconds of taking in the scene to understand what happened. “Io…what the fuck, man.”

Io took a quick look down at Nyx, who was groaning and wrapped in a fetal position, clutching her head as if in great pain. She’d be fine. “But Becky!” Io drawled in a whining tone, “She was totes askin’ for it...”

Beck continued to stare Io down, not impressed at the slightest. “Please. Just try to find a way that doesn’t break all the rad gnomes on my front lawn.” 

Looking around alarmed, Io took in all the festive gnomes decorating the lawn. They seemed to be dressed in various shades of green and red, all adorned with matching, tiny red hats. To be honest, the sight was wayy more creepy than it should be. Shocked, she replied, “When... did you add all these?”

“I added it yesterday…” Beck looked sheepish, avoiding Io’s gaze. “The cute brunette from the gym liked it...”

“Wha..!” Io stared at Beck, shocked, with clear excitement shining in her eyes. The creepiness of the gnomes forgotten, at least for now. “I’m so happy for you Becky!!!”

Nyx, who was starting to get her bearings, stared at Beck solemnly while giving her a thumbs-up– supporting a fellow lesbian.

Beck blushed, fidgeting even more. “Haha.. yeah, I kind of have high hopes with her. Y’know-” She paused in her fidgeting, remembering the original topic of the conversation. “Wait. I was mad at you.”

Io was suspiciously quiet. Nyx gave out a faint pained groan in the background.

Beck sighed, continuing, “How about this. Y’know how Christmas is in, like, a couple days? I spent all my time putting up these gnomes instead of putting up the… actual decorations.” She smirked. “Instead of fighting all over the front lawn, you two can do a decorating competition and help me.”

Well... at least she can still beat Nyx. Io answered with a determined grin of her own, the end of her scarf lighting on fire from sheer excitement. “Count me in!” Moving her attention to Nyx, she gave a soft kick at the prone body. “Just give up– I’m clearly winning this!”

Nyx sucked in a deep breath before rising to sit on the wet ground, a smirk on her face the entire way. “Don’t c-count me out just yet. Y-you’ll be surprised.”

– X –

The three were in the living room, surrounded by stacks of boxes filled with assorted festive knick-knacks and decorations. Otherwise, the room was deceptively cleared out, giving space for the Christmas tree and various other decorations. In particular, they stood in front of two boxes identified by the haphazardly-drawn “Wreath&Garlands” label spelled out in child-like scrawl on the top. It’s clear the supplies have run in the family for a long time. The boxes were so stuffed full of festive garlands that they bulged outwards unnaturally– some cords were even positioned half outside, unable to fit within the box. Beck herself seemed embarrassed by how badly she had organized the boxes last year.

They had decided to start the competition immediately, though the decision was mostly Io’s– her resolute desire to show up to Nyx overriding all other judgement. The reaper’s injuries were thankfully healed prior to the meeting, so Nyx was ready as she ever could be to begin. Io wouldn’t have had it any other way. Excitement aside, though, Beck looked much more uncertain now that the two actually agreed with her idea; she had thought Io would just continue to spar as normal. The wisp usually ignored the holiday, anyways– it wouldn’t have been out of character for her to ignore it again this year. When Beck realized the two wisps were still standing around and had no clue how to start, she cleared her throat.

“Uh, right. Basically, what you need to do is hang the garlands on the walls throughout the house, and the wreaths on all the doors” She adopted a thinking pose before continuing, “It’d make sense for each round to award points, right? Whoever hangs the most wins, and gets a point.”

Right as Beck turned around, Io shoved Nyx hard enough to make her stumble. After making sure she had eye contact, Io dramatically points at the boxes then herself, exaggerating mouthing the words “That point is mine!”- exclamation point included, of course. Nyx looked bored of the whole thing.

Beck already started opening the box while Io antagonized Nyx. She looked up, continuing the directions from earlier. “I guess you can just start now?” 

Nyx surprisingly started first. Io was still in the middle of her next round of attempted intimidation when Beck officially began the competition, thus was still behind when Nyx bolted to the packed boxes. She dragged out a couple simple fraser fir garlands dotted with fake pine-cones and cranberries to wrap the stair railing with– easy and requiring only a couple pieces of tape and a few moments of effort.

Io, after a moment of fumbling in shock, instead went straight for the wreaths, grabbing armfuls and speeding down the house to hang them on every surface available. So yes, it may have been a bit unorthodox to hang the wreaths everywhere without rhyme or reason, but their beauty certainly made up for the design… discrepancies. And it would cash a lot of points too! Or at least that's what Io thought. 

The two continued their near parallel strategies– Nyx with the garlands and Io with the wreaths. Beck just plopped on a couch near the boxes, watching the rooms steadily becoming filled with festive decorations and feeling a bit more like Christmas with each piece added. Eventually it came to the point where the two wisps had used up all of their respective decorations, until there were no wreaths or garlands left in the previous bulging supply box. 

When Io reached the end of her supply, she paused and winced in alarm. “There’s gotta be more… Th-there’s no way that’s, like, it? Right, Becky?”

A voice on the other side of the room behind Io responded instead, though. “I think y-you’ll find this being the last r-remaining wreath.” They let out a snicker underneath their breath.

Io immediately turned, widening her eyes in shock at Nyx standing on a stool, raising her hands about to hang the last wreath. To her, it was the greatest offense– the wreath stolen right underneath her nose as the last decoration for the competition. Io narrowed her eyes and gave Nyx a clear glare. “Don’t you DARE…”

Nyx responded by gently shaking the wreath as a taunt, her grin widening even further. “O-oh I do dare.”

From then on, it seemed as of time dramatically slowed down (at least, it did in Beck’s perspective– she was still slumped near the boxes, unknowing of what would occur). Io bolted in Nyx’s direction, intending to snatch the wreath from the other’s hands and claim it as her point. Nyx’s eyes widened in obvious fear, losing her balance and falling backwards from the stool, clutching the wreath in a death-grip all the while. Io’s initial course couldn’t be changed, however– if there was one thing Io learned from Chip, it’s that the other’s charges could never be stopped. Thus, the last thing Io saw before her inevitable impact against the hard, wood walls of Beck’s house was Nyx also hitting her head from her sudden fall. Io was able to give a small smirk, smug in their mutual pain before her head hit the wall in an anticlimactic thump. Both wisps were collapsed on the floor.

– X –

Beck seemed even more tired than before as she stood with the two wisps outside in the snow. After the impact and subsequent collapse of both Io and Nyx, Beck– as the only person even conscious in the house at that point– was the one that had to heal them. Considering most of the abilities she knows are debuff heavy, rather than restorative, the work that she did was pretty bad. Both wisps had bandages wrapped around their heads, with Nyx even stumbling at times. Io looked determined as ever, however, and was looking pleadingly at Beck to continue the competition. 

Beck let out a long, weary sigh, and decided to do just that. “At first, I didn’t really want to continue…..” Beck pauses, moving her gaze to Io, “But then I realized I’d probably be facing even more injuries by refusing Io, so.” 

Io nodded, “That’s right!”, and refused to say anything– smiling smugly all the while.

“So, I just moved the competition outside. In the snow. Where injury is at its minimum. Please.” Beck begged. 

Nyx took the chance to speak up. “I m-mean, I’ll stay o-out of trouble.” Pointing at Io, she continues blandly, “I’m not too sure about this one-”

Io interrupted, pouting “Just continue the competition! We’re, like, on the edge of our seats...” 

Beck resumes where she left of, exasperated, “Yeah, well… you two were tied so it’s not like either of you won that first round.” 

“What!!/W-what.” The two wisps responded, in shock. They glared at the other, but Io continued her protest. “I totes put more decorations up than this dumb reaper!”

“There was an equal divide…” Beck winced. “But anyways! The next challenge is to make a Snowman...” 

The Ice mogwai grinned, relieved she’s finally in her own home turf. “S-sounds easy enough.”

“...in each other’s likeness!” Beck grinned.

Io, knowing her own artistic skills were certainly lacking, blanched. She shook her head, slapping her cheek to wake herself from the shock, and resumed looking as determined as ever. Nyx certainly didn’t look as confident now. Beck, in all honesty, was just happy to take the two off-guard as some sort of revenge for the healing she had to do earlier that day.

“Now if you don’t mind…. I’m gonna play Fortnite with my bros.” Beck’s grin widened, slowly backing away to the house. 

Io pouted. “Yeah, yeah…but remember Becky, we’re totally going training later tonight, ‘k?” Io grinned cheekily at Beck. The other gave a thumbs-up and a smile in recognition, before entering the house.

After a couple moments of silence, Io stalked to Nyx, pushing her scarf down to get a better look at the other’s face. Her initial aggression was multiplied further by her loss the previous round– her determination at winning the competition rising just the same. And for that, she had to treat this round with the full seriousness it deserves. She took a close look at Nyx’s facial features for the perfect Snow-Nyx– the reaper cowed into silence at the other’s actions.

Nyx looked away, nervous at the other’s closeness. “Y-you… really want to w-win this, huh.”

Io briefly nodded, resuming her examination of the other. “Yeah. This weird holiday means a lot to Becky, after all.” She chewed her lip. “And I’ve been pretty mean, ignoring how much it meant to her these past years.”

“I can u-understand the f-feeling…” Nyx paused, thinking about her own previous conjurer and the holidays they used to celebrate together. “Th-this just means I’ll h-have to treat this competition j-just as seriously for Beck.” Nyx ended in a wide grin.

Io stopped her examination, moving to stare directly at Nyx’s eyes. Satisfied at whatever she saw, her brief soft smile turned into a smirk. “Hmph… Good! You better start soon though, ‘cuz I’ll be leavin’ you in the dust!” And with that, she ran to the other side of the yard, starting her snow masterpiece. 

Nyx shuffled after her, grin melting into a smile. She was happy she was able to cover the rift she had sensed earlier between her and the other wisp. Now, she had a competition to win.

After they had both finished their snowmen, Io called Beck over to grade their final performances. As Nyx’s was the closest to the entrance, she started over there first. 

Despite the reaper’s affinity to ice, her snow sculpting ability left much to be desired. It’s clear Nyx tried to do some complicated sculpture of Io, but the ice was melting fast, leaving Io’s face lopsided and uneven. Nyx clearly gave up past the face, and scribbled the remaining details of the torso. To be honest, Beck wasn’t too sure if it could even be considered a snowman, rather than an ice sculpture.

Beck turned to Io’s creation– the pink wisp chose to do a more simple snowman, with a lot of decorations. The Snow-Nyx had a small smile of pebbles, as well as clumps of feathers on the middle ball, meant to replicate Nyx’s fur coat. Io even drew Nyx’s eyes correctly on the snowman. Most surprisingly, though, was that Nyx had agreed to share her yellow scarf for Io’s creation–the scarf laid proudly on mini Snow-Nyx. Io was beaming, satisfied at her own creation.

Beck was frustrated– both entries were pretty good. “I dunno, man… both of these are good.” At that point, Nyx’s sculpture collapsed from the base melting. She hesitated a moment further “But… I think I gotta go with Io’s.”

The wisp in question jumped and squealed in elation, not at all in shock that her amazing Snow-Nyx won the round. Nyx huffed, elbowing Io to catch her attention. “I’ll g-get the next point, I s-swear.”

Io grinned. “Really? ‘Cuz from where I’m looking, I’m closer to winning than you are.”

– X –

Nyx sneaked into Beck’s room, intent on asking her preference for dinner. She stopped short, though, when she noticed Beck’s clear confusion on whatever her computer monitor was showing her. Nyx paused for a moment, already feeling regret sinking in to what she was about to say, but continued, “I-is… uh, everything o-ok?”. 

Beck startled and turned to look back at Nyx, but something seemed to clear on her face once she realized she wasn’t alone. “Nyx! Great! Please help a bro out…” She beckoned the wisp over, smiling. “Come a lil’ closer? I’ll even give you some bonus points this round.”

“I-it’s fine. I don’t n-need the point.” It would’ve been unfair to Io, who’s been working just as hard. She can just imagine the other’s reaction if she had followed through with the point– the pink wisp yelling on and on about Nyx being a cheater.

Nonetheless, Nyx shuffled closer to Beck, now able to clearly see the video playing on the conjurer’s screen. A gnome seemed to be bouncing around, repeating the phrase “You’ve been gnome’d” in an annoying voice. The regret is hitting pretty hard by now.

Beck took Nyx’s movement as confirmation of her help, nodding her head in gratitude. “One of my bros send me this video, but I’m.. not too sure what it means? Y’think I can send this to, uh, the girl back at the gym?”

“T-the one that l-likes gnomes?”, Nyx clarified.

Beck nodded. “Yeah, that one.”

Nyx grimaced, glancing back at the screen. After the fifth repeat, it seemed like the gnome’s eyes were following her, staring blankly with endless pits for eyes. “A-and you haven’t a-asked Io, yet?”

“No way!” Beck blushed a little, rubbing her arms sheepishly. “She’d be joshing me at the earliest chance for not getting the joke.”

She needs to get out of here, and fast. “I’d say g-go for it. S-she’d think the g-gnome is cute.”

Beck giggled, smiling even further. “Thanks, man!” Beck spun around in her seat, moving to the computer and started typing furiously. Her full intent was to send the video as soon as possible.

Nyx stumbled out of the room, forgetting her earlier goal completely. She felt incredibly sorry for Beck’s crush and what she was about to receive.

– X –

It was early the next morning when Beck called Io and Nyx to the living room. It was dawn of the final day, and all that– Christmas Eve was that day. And Beck had left the best part for last: setting up the stockings and presents. Everyone had bought presents the week before, and they were now situated underneath the tree Beck had set up on her own the other day– she still didn’t trust the wisps with complicated decorating indoors. 

Beck had three stockings in her arms, each with varying designs that just managed to coincide with one of the three resident’s color schemes. She pushed the matching stockings to Io and Nyx, leaving the last yellow stocking for herself. 

“This last round is gonna be pretty easy.” Beck smiled, glad the hell was near over. “Just hang these stockings on this wall and in them, put candy or–” and here she winked, “steam gift-cards to certain well-meaning conjurers.” She moved to hang the stocking on the nearby wall, motioning the others to follow.

Io bounced forward to do the same, hanging hers right beside Beck’s. Nyx put hers to the far right side, next to Io’s.

Before Io could start pouring the small gifts she had prepared for Beck’s stocking, Nyx elbowed her, dangling some sort of soot-covered bag.

“It’s a t-tradition that Santa w-would give naughty ch-children coal, right?” Nyx smirked, maintaining eye contact with Io as she poured coal from the bag into Io’s stocking. So she had a front-row view to Io’s eyes slowly widening in horror.

Io slumped so far that her face became half-covered in shadow, dark mood strengthening. “You..” 

Nyx simply raised her eyebrow.

“You… Beck knitted that.” Io raised her head to give a strong glare to Nyx. She summoned her sword aflame, posed to attack. “I think you should run.”

Nyx’s eyes widened in alarm, gaze quickly moving back and forth from Io to her sword. She seemed to make her decision when she bolted away, muttering “fuck” constantly as she tried to escape.

Beck spoke before Io could run in pursuit, “You do know I just bought them from Smallmart, right?”

Io snorted. “Yeah. Duh, Becky.” She gave a thrilled grin and commenced the chase.


	2. Bonus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah i didn't lie when i said this was short, but i thought it disrupted the main chapter so! just for u io/nyx shippers... u know who u are.
> 
> also to those who didn't get the previous chapter's ending– it's just io making shit up for the chance to mess with Nyx again. its now something she actively enjoys outside the thrill of fighting..................... or at least thats what i thought, man O__O

Io came in to Nyx dozing off on the desk, Io’s stocking cleaned and all the coal pushed messily to the edges of the desk. She gave a soft smile, private to moments where Nyx was absent. Moving to cover Nyx with her own jacket, Io whispered, “You dumb reaper… this is why I l-”

Io cut herself off as Nyx shifted, snuggling closer into the jacket. She then gave a bitter smile, refusing to continue. Backing away slowly, she shut the door as softly as she could.

Nyx continued sleeping– oblivious to what occurred.


End file.
